Everyone hates the CNN Countdown Clock, peddler of lies.

The single most infuriating object in the 2016 election is CNN’s omnipresent clock.

The clock is not here to actually count down to anything but another clock. Tonight the clock claimed to be counting down to the first polls closing; the numbers ticked down, until it almost reached zero. Then it immediately reset:

Perhaps CNN thinks the clock is fun, as if the fact that there is always an exit poll, debate, or primary result “just a few minutes away” gives election coverage the fevered feeling of New Year’s Eve. Instead, the clock is a constant reminder that you are wasting your life watching CNN. It shows you all the precious, irreplaceable minutes that are seeping away.

The CNN clock is the button that must be pushed on Lost. It is a Sisyphean rock for anyone who watches election coverage. It is visual proof that we live in a Kafka-esque nightmare world. 

Time is running out, the clock says. There are only 5,692 hours left until the general election.